Meanwhile, after suffering a huge drop in volume in July, Bing seems to have bounced back. The Microsoft search engine is back up to 3.87 per cent market share, just under its figure for May. Yahoo also improved slightly, rising to 2.56 per cent; however, last week's migration of natural search results means that Yahoo users are in fact seeing SERPs powered by Bing, as part of the Search Alliance between the two companies. Market share for Ask has increased to 1.37 per cent.

theEword's managing editor Richard Frost said: "As the Search Alliance really takes hold we're bound to see users switching from Yahoo to Bing. However, even that is unlikely to make a dent in Google's dominance of the search engine market."

Search trends this week

For the week ending 6th August, the fastest rising search terms relate to rumours surrounding Amy Winehouse and a secret engagement, and Meat Loaf fainting on stage. Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson's car smash and the death of Grease actress Annette Charles also attracted a lot of searches.